We are pleased to announce the new release of Good Dynamics SDKs for Android, iOS and Windows.

What’s New

There are multiple new features and improvements that developers will want to check out.

Public Key Cryptography support for Kerberos authentication (PKINIT)

Certificate Sharing on device

Swift 2.0 support

Android M support

Good Dynamics OS X SDK 1.0

Support for Android Fingerprint and Samsung Pass authentication

New Good Control security policies for fingerprint authentication

Xamarin and PhoneGap improvements

Public Key Cryptography support for Kerberos authentication (PKINIT)

PKINIT refers to an authentication mechanism for Kerberos which uses client certificates to authenticate the Good Dynamics(GD) client. PKINIT certificates can be automatically enrolled using a Certificate Authority (CA) server or uploaded in PKCS 12 format to the Good Control (GC). GD apps can take advantage of this authentication mechanism (i.e. no user action required) with a few conditions:

Available when the app is using HTTP/S protocol to access resources

Supported on Android and iOS platforms

Requires Kerberos Constrained Delegation (KCD) not to be enabled

Supports only Microsoft CA issued certificates at this time

Validated on Windows Server 2008 and 2012

Certificate Sharing on Device

This feature allows GD applications on device to share client certificates. Currently, every GD app has to request and provision their own client certificate when needed, this new feature will allow GD applications to share client certificates and prevent multiple requests to the Certificate Authority(CA). Configuration is not required by IT Admins or developers to take advantage of this feature. Certificate sharing is automatically enabled for the apps which an Admin has whitelisted in the Certificates > App Usage tab on Good Control.

Adding Support for Swift 2.0 Development on iOS

The followings are available for the Swift development:

Good Dynamics APIs in Swift

Good Dynamics Swift Template

Good Dynamics Swift documentation

Support for new Swift features like exceptions, nonull and null handling

Good Dynamics Swift sample code

For this release, authentication or redirects are not supported. These features are planned for a future release.

GD OS X SDK 1.0

Kerberos support; this will allow web apps running in Good Access on Mac OS X to use Kerberos authentication to reach protected resources

Fingerprint Authentication

Support for Android M and Samsung Pass fingerprint authentication

Periodic password request (iOS and Android); Users would be forced to re-enter password at specific intervals when using fingerprint authentication. This feature can be managed by security policies from the GC

Fingerprint change detection (iOS and Android); If the device passcode or fingerprint detection is disabled and then re-enabled, the user is forced to enter the GD password to authenticate. This is to prevent a type of attack where an attacker gets possession of an unlocked device, turns off passcode, adds new fingertip and then proceed to use it to unlock a GD app. Additionally for added security when a fingerprint is added or removed or the user is also forced to enter the password to authenticate. This policy is always on thus additional policy setting is not required

Improvements on Xamarin and Cordova(PhoneGap) development tools

We’ve added support for the use of Xamarin to develop GD apps that are explicitly compiled for iOS 9/Xcode 7 SDK. Also for the GD PhoneGap plug-in, we now support all 5.x version of Cordova. The release for Xamarin and PhoneGap are scheduled shortly after the GD SDK release for Android, iOS and Windows.

You can learn more about these releases by accessing the latest release notes, documentation and downloads from the Downloads page in the Good Developer Network.

Here with more exciting news is Victoria, who wants to tell you all about our just-announced BlackBerry Jam program! – Ed.

Over the past few years, one of the priorities for BlackBerry® Developer Relations has been growing community programs. We’ve worked to support, grow and promote BlackBerry Developer Groups, share more information, and help through our Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog and @BlackBerryDev Twitter account.

We also recently hosted several BBM Apps Hackathons to help get developers started with our Social Platform pieces. We’ve been focusing on building relationships and finding new ways to collaborate with our developer communities.

I’m very excited to tell you a bit about the “BlackBerry Jam” program that was unveiled at BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011. I think of BlackBerry Jam as a continuation of the promise that we are making to developers to keep listening, keep learning and keep sharing information back out to them.

So why did we call it BlackBerry Jam? It really goes back to jamming with your friends, your peers, and your family. It’s those conversations that lead to new ideas and new connections.

BlackBerry Jam really highlights our commitment to working closely with developers to become an important partner in their success. This program draws together the services and programs we have built that help developers with go-to-market and success strategies, as well as aligning our Web portals with the BlackBerry Jam focus of communication and partnership.

One of the areas close to my heart is the BlackBerry Jam Community program.

BlackBerry Jam Community will encompass a lot of the programs we are building, allowing us to reach out to the community, connect with our developers and have face-to-face time. The Support Forums, the meetup programs we’re involved in, the hackathons we’ve been hosting, our BlackBerry Developer Groups and global Developer Days will all be part of a larger BlackBerry Jam Session program.

This is a reinvigorated focus on “us”: RIM and our developers. A pledge to continue our focus on how we can collaborate, to listen and use the feedback you are providing to us, to meet you and have you meet us, to find new ways to learn from each other and to work with you to evolve our tools and the support system we have in place for you.

I, for one, cannot wait to get started. So, how would you want to work with us, to jam with us?